Improved whitewash-brush



BURTNETT L MC'INTOSH.

Whitewash Brush.

No.45,907. Patented 1an. 17, 1865.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM E. BUETNETT, oF NEW YORK, AND JAMEs P. MeInTosH, oF BROOK- LYN,n. Y.

IMPROVED WHlTEWASH-BRUSH.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 45,907, dated January17, 1865.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM B. BURT- NETT, of the city of New York, inthe State ot' New York, and JAMES P. MolNtIosH, of the city of Brooklyn,in said State, have invented a new and Improved Block or Head forWhitewash-Brushes; and we do hereby declare that the following is a fulland exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, forming a partof this our specification of said invention, and in which drawings-Figure l is a top view, the handle being at or nearly at right angleswith the brush. Fig. 2 is a sectional view, the brush and handle beingin the same pla-ne; and Fig. 3, a crosssection illustrating the changeof position of the handle from one side to the other of the brush.

Under the old and common mode of making` whitewash-brush heads77 therecan be but two positions of the handle-to wit, one upright on the top ofthe brush-head, for the purpose of working overheath and the other onthe side for side-wall work. B v the old method of construction it isnecessary that the grain 7 of the wood should run transverse to the poleor handle, in order to prevent the handle from breaking out 5 and inorder to make the block light and neat it involves the necessity ofmakingthe top hole quite small, and much too small to admit ofsufficient strength to that part of the handle that enters the block toprevent it from breaking off. Besides this, the grain of the woodrunning as above described, it necessarily follows that all the nailsdriven through the leather to secure the bristles must penetrate onelayer or grain ofthe wood, each of which nails, aoting as a wedge, tendsto split off that part of the block, thereby destroying the brush. Toovercome these difficulties manufacturers are compelled to have theseblocks made of very tough, heavy wood, such as oak or elm;but when madeof the latter wood the block is liable to twist or warp when immersed inany kind of liquor, thereby destroying its practicability, while, on theother hand, if made of oak, it becomes necessary to drive a nail ofconsiderable length into each end of the block transversely to thegrain, in order to prevent the changing the handle from the angular tothe upright position, and v ice versa, the block is split by driving thehandle in to make it sufficiently tight to hold; and even if it' shouldnot split the block the handle can never be made tight enough to keepthe brush steady, since its fnlcrum is just where the handle enters theblock and thus the long arm of the lever, being' outside the hole,brings the strain all on the short arm, or that part which is in theblock. Finally, the old blocks 7 have to be made broader, in order togive room for the side hole. All of these objections are obviated by ourinvention.

By our mode of construction we can avail ourselves of any requiredangle. We can have the hole or ferrule of sufficient size to admit ahandle of proper strength, and the angle of the brush can be instantlychanged by turning the handle to the left hand, so as to relieve thescrew, and then to `the right hand to screw it iirmly in position afterit is adjusted to the required angle. We can change the angle to thereverse side of the block, thereby utilizing both sides when one becomesworn. We can have the blocks made of light, thin wood, thereby lesseningthe weight, which is an important consideration. We can have the grainof the wood run parallel with the handle, and thus each nail, whendriven through the leather to secure the bristles, passes into aseparate layer or grain of the wood, and consequently tends tostrengthen, instead of weaken, the block, as in the old method.

In a word, our invention is applicable to every variety of work as wellas every variety of brush.

As shown in the drawings, we apply to the block A and firmly securethereto in any proper manner a curved metallic grooved way, E, having anopening or slot, as atf, Fig. l, and which slot extends from side toside of thereon secured by a screw, d, as represented in the severaliigures. The several parts lieng thus applied together, it is evidentthat by turning the handle B to the left hand the brush head or block Awill become loosened from any given position in which it may be placedwith reference to the handle, and thereafter adjusted to any otherdesired position, as illustrated in Fig. 3, the points of adjustmentbeing anywhere within the way E, whether on either side or on top of theblock A.

By turning the handle B to the right hand the lower end of the ferrule Cwill be brought in tight contact with the outer curved surface of theway E, and but a slight exertion of the power of the operator will besufficient to screw the handle and brush together in a position whichcannot be varied by any power exerted upon the brush when in the act ofuse. The reason of this is, that supposing power to be applied to thehandle to move it in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 3,

such power will bring the point of contact ot' the lower end of theferrule C onto the outer portion of way E ata point in rear of the screwH, thereby throwing the shoulder g of said screw which is farthest oi'from such point ot contact firmly against the inner surface of the way,thus causing the power applied to both points of contact to be exertedagainst each other in such manner as to hold the handle in any givenfixed position, instead of allowingthe shoulder gto traverse the slot f.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent ofthe United States, is-

l. A brush-block, in combination with a slotted way, E, substantially asdescribed.

2. A slotted way, E, in combination with a ferrule, C, substantially asdescribed.

3. A brush, with its handle applied thereto, when the several parts areconstructed and operated substantially as described.

WV. B. BUBTNETT. J. P. MCINTOSH.

Witnesses:

JN0. J. LATTING,

MCHARD LINDLEY.

